College Fantasy Football Sleepers - Top 10 Quarterback Impact Transfers Of 2023

Mike Marteny prepares you for the CFB DFS and college fantasy football season, taking a look at the top quarterback transfers to have immediate impacts on their new teams in 2023.

The transfer portal has 2,655 entrants since December, an increase of nearly 600 players since last year despite the NCAA introducing "windows" in which players can announce a transfer. It didn't have the crazy jump that it did from 2021 to 2022, but that's still a lot of moving parts. Nearly half of all FBS players have entered the transfer portal at some time in the last 24 months with some returning to their current schools (Grayson McCall being the big one this season). College football free agency is much wackier than the NFL will ever be.

We will start the last great college football season (yes, the expanded playoff is going to kill the fun of the regular season, and don't even get me started on realignment) by taking a look at the transfers who will make an immediate impact at their new schools for both our fantasy and DFS lineups from day one. There were so many skill players that I decided to break it down by position to celebrate the sheer number of talented players on the move.

193 quarterbacks joined the transfer portal at some time in the last year with 138 of them finding homes. That is a much worse percentage than last year. We still have about a month to go for the rest of these "free agents" to find homes, but none of them (except for maybe Tyler Phommachanh) will have a huge impact this late in the game. Here are the ten that should make the most impact for fantasy leagues and in DFS. Some are already being hyped as Heisman contenders. Here are the signal-callers that changed schools who have the largest impact on the 2023 college football season.

QB Transfer Impacts Last Season

Caleb Williams was the easy pick. Anyone who pays attention to college football got that right. I had Michael Penix at 7 last year and he was almost as good as Williams. I underestimated him in the Washington offense. I was also too low on Cameron Ward.

I was too high on Kedon Slovis (who is back for another transfer tour in a class so strong that he didn't even make the list) and Jaxson Dart, who lost the Ole Miss job early. Adrian Martinez got hurt. So did Dillon Gabriel and was mostly ineffective upon his return. Overall, I was a little off on some, but the list itself wasn't bad. All ten players from last year had an impact of some sort, even if Spencer Rattler waited until November to make his.

Looking to 2023, I won't list Grayson McCall, Brett Gabbert, Haaziq Daniels, Braylon Braxton, Austin Aune, or Austin Reed. All of them either returned to their old schools, retired (Daniels), or declared for the NFL Draft (Aune). I expect Reed, McCall, and Braxton to have years worthy of landing on this list, but they technically aren't transfers. I also tried to stick with guys that have little or no competition for the job. Now for the real list. Let's get to it!

10. Layne Hatcher, Ball State (from Texas State)

I play DFS on DraftKings, so even though I think that T.J. Finley, Dylan Hopkins, and Davis Brin have more upside, they won't be featured often in DFS. Hatcher will. We have six weeks of MACtion where Hatcher will be featured in October and November.

Hatcher enrolled at Alabama and had no chance of beating out Bryce Young or either Tagovailoa, so he headed to Texas State...where he also lost the job. It's on to David Letterman U. for Hatcher, who is expected to take over for John Paddock, who bolted for Illinois. Unfortunately for Hatcher, the playmaking receivers from last season are also gone. However, Kent State transfer Marquez Cooper gives them a workhorse back and Wake Forest transfer Zavier Simpson gives him some experience at receiver.

9. Haynes King, Georgia Tech (from Texas A&M)

Jeff Sims is off to Nebraska, so the job is King's for the taking. King had the A&M job to begin the 2021 season before a broken leg ended his season. He was ineffective enough to get benched after the Florida game last season and is looking for a new start in Atlanta. Leading receivers Nate McCollum and Malachi Carter are gone, but Malik Rutherford and Leo Blackburn should be good targets for King. Georgia Tech isn't going to be that good of a team once again, but King can put up some big numbers with the Bees playing from behind.

8. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (from Jackson State)

Shedeur Sanders to Travis Hunter is looking LETHAL ?

Sanders has reportedly looked “elite” through three days of fall camp.

Sanders was ranked as the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this season by Fox Sports, after last season ended.

Travis Hunter also said he wants… pic.twitter.com/s8xM6GmBG1

— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 5, 2023

Sanders has put up video game numbers in his first two collegiate seasons while at Jackson State. Will that translate to a Power-5 school? Sanders followed his father to Boulder and will be the unquestioned starter for the Ralphies this season. The good news is that Kentucky transfer Kavosiey Smoke and South Florida transfer Jimmy Horn Jr. give the Buffaloes some playmakers aside from Sanders in this offense. Based on potential alone, Sanders could be much higher on this list. However, I am concerned about the schedule and Colorado's lack of depth.

7. Phil Jurkovec, Pittsburgh (from Boston College)

Jurkovec has won the starting job vacated by Kedon Slovis (who is headed back west to BYU) over Nate Yarnell and Penn State transfer Christian Veileux. The Pittsburgh native burst on the scene for the Eagles in 2020, throwing for 2,558 yards with 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions. The last two years have been rough for Jurkovec with just 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He returns home to try and finish his collegiate career with a bang.

This will be a different-looking Pitt team than last year, but there is still some talent left here on offense. 2022 transfer receivers Bub Means (Louisiana Tech) and Konata Mumpfield (Akron) struggled with Slovis under center but succeeded at their previous schools. Can Jurkovec combine with them to make Pitt an ACC contender? I like their chances.

6. Donovan Smith, Houston (from Texas Tech)

Smith is taking over for Clayton Tune, who is now in the NFL with Arizona. Smith actually led the Red Raiders with 1,505 passing yards last season, but Behren Morton and Tyler Shough both played over Smith down the stretch prompting him to transfer. Smith leaves Texas Tech with 2,586 passing yards with 19 touchdowns to 10 interceptions over two seasons. He showed some promise as a rusher too, racking up 271 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Houston is an offensive-minded team that has put up some really good numbers in recent years. There is a strong offensive system already in place and Smith looks like a really good fit in it.

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5. Brennan Armstrong, North Carolina State (from Virginia)

Most people wrote off Armstrong after a horrid season last year, but I'm not going to be one of them. I remember how good Armstrong was in 2021. He threw for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns while running for 251 yards and nine more touchdowns. Then the coaching change in Charlottesville happened and the team never ran an offense that catered to Armstrong's strengths or the strengths of his receivers.

Brennan Armstrong stays in conference by going to NC State. Below, you see the combo of arm strength and accuracy Brennan displayed torching ACC defenses in 2021. Regaining his 2021 form should have Brennan cemented as one of the 2024 class’s most improved QBs?#PortalProspects pic.twitter.com/YS0wfzYtut

— Will Becker (@WillBecker_) August 7, 2023

All of that ability that Armstrong flashed in 2021 didn't just disappear. Armstrong's skills are going to fit well in the Wolfpack offense. The incumbent bolted for Kentucky (more on that later), so Armstrong will take over. The Pack don't mind running their quarterback and there are some good receivers hanging around in Raleigh. Don't sleep on Armstrong. He could be in for another season similar to 2021. There's a reason that he chose NC State. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae was his coordinator for that 2021 season.

4. Hudson Card, Purdue (from Texas)

Card will be forever remembered in Austin as the guy who couldn't hold the lead against Alabama. Never mind that it wasn't his fault. Card played about as well as could be expected after Quinn Ewers left the game. He didn't turn the ball over, but Card was sacked three times and didn't throw a touchdown either. Card went on to play solid football until Ewers returned for the Oklahoma game. Solid isn't good enough in Austin.

It should be good enough in West Lafayette though. This Purdue offense is a quarterback's dream. Charlie Jones and Payne Durham are gone, but Mershawn Rice and TJ Sheffield are still around to haul in whatever Card throws near them. This is has been a pass-first offense since Drew Brees was there. It's not going to change now.

3. DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State (from Clemson)

The most popular guy on campus is the backup quarterback. It was true when DJ was backing up Trevor Lawrence. It was true for Cade Klubnik last year backing up the ever-struggling Uiagalelei. DJ never lived up to the ESPN hype dumped on him after his big performance against Wake, and it resulted in his benching in the South Carolina game after a dreadful 8-for-29 passing for just 99 yards.

DJ resurfaced out west in Corvallis, but a lot has happened since then. The dumbassery of the Pac-12 hierarchy and Fox Sports' thirst for coastal domination ultimately doomed the "Conference of Champions." The Beavers are left out in the cold, and it really doesn't seem right. Who knows where they will be once 2024 rolls around, but there is still a lot of optimism in Corvallis for this season. Anthony Gould and Silas Bolden give Uiagalelei a couple of steady targets and Damien Martinez is a very underrated back.

2. Devin Leary, Kentucky (from North Carolina State)

Leary was putting up numbers last year that would have rivaled his 2021 season before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season against Florida State in Week 8. Instead of preparing for the NFL Draft, Leary transferred to Kentucky, the school that just launched Will Levis into the NFL.

Levis was a good quarterback at Penn State, but something clicked at Kentucky. I tend to think that Leary has more talent coming into Lexington than Levis did, but they still have different skill sets. Leary will still have a burner in Tayvion Robinson to throw to and Temple/Vanderbilt transfer Re'Mahn Davis giving him a break in the backfield.

There is a clear path for Leary to have a better overall season than Levis did in 2022. Whether that translates into a high draft pick is anyone's guess, but the QB class of 2024 is going to be better than this year's.

1. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame (from Wake Forest)

This year doesn't have a slam-dunk number one like last year did. I chose Hartman because he definitely has the most experience. Of course, I would like this more if Michael Mayer weren't now in the NFL, but so it goes.

Hartman had the benefit of some beasts at receiver in Winston Salem like A.T. Perry and Jaquarii Roberston. He might not have that with the Irish. Running back turned slot receiver Chris Tyree could be in for a big year, but Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather didn't see a whole lot of targets with Mayer around.

That said, Hartman might be the most talented Irish quarterback since Brady Quinn. Forget the fact that Quinn got sent to the NFL's Siberia (Cleveland). They ruined many a quarterback. Quinn was really good in college. Hartman can be better if one of those receivers steps up.

Honorable Mention: Jeff Sims, Nebraska (from Georgia Tech); Mikey Keene, Fresno State (from Central Florida); Timmy McClain, Central Florida (from South Florida); Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State (from Michigan); Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin (from SMU); Cade McNamara, Iowa (from Michigan).

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